We kicked off the new year at Otterbein University, we’ll be at Hopewell next month and then back our regular digs at Rev1. In a well-attended lecture hall Elizabeth Eckels, CEO & Founder of Bancroft Digital, presented an intro class into what the world of consulting is all about. Not about the tedious details of  how to setup an LLC or your corporate tax structure, but a lively conversation about analytics consulting practice itself, with real talk about the pluses and minuses.

The audience was fully engaged for this one, as basically everyone has either spent some time as a consultant or engaged with a consultant as a part of their job. There’s a ton to learn from both sides; learning how to most productively engage with your consultant is important too! Going out on your own in whatever the form can present a lot of risks and benefits, but Elizabeth walked us through both in a thoughtful way.

A few of her tips:

• Don’t undervalue yourself.
• Especially if you work at home, setting work boundaries can help keep you sane.
• Frequent and thoughtful client communication is incredibly important. Put yourself in their shoes, but keep records to protect yourself too!
• Nobody knows if you’re wearing pajama bottoms on a video conference, unless you have to stand up.

She has also kindly provided her slides! Check out slide #18 for a list of resources.

Welcome to the many new faces this time, hope to see you at future events as well! Also welcome back to one popular canine face, Elizabeth’s dog Cash.

Please join us next month downtown at Hopewell where Ahmad Ahmad will present on factor analysis.